UEFA reject Mallorca’s plea for Europa League ban

(GSM) – Mallorca have had their appeal, against the expulsion from this season’s Europa League, rejected by UEFA.

UEFA had announced earlier this month that they had denied the Spanish side entry to the upcoming season’s competition after deeming that they had fallen foul of financial regulations relating to their debts.

But Mallorca appealed the decision, as La Liga rivals Villarreal waited to take their place in the competition, with UEFA announced on Friday the decision would not be overturned.

In a last attempt, the club may now turn to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

A statement from the European governing body said: “The UEFA Appeals Body has today dismissed the appeal lodged by the Spanish club RCD Mallorca and upheld the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body’s decision not to admit the Spanish club to the UEFA club competitions for the 2010/11 season.

“On 22 July 2010 the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body ruled that the necessary admission criteria…had not been fulfilled, as the licence granted to the club was not done so in accordance with the UEFA Club Licensing Regulations.

“Among the expert reviews on which the decision of the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body was based, the conclusion of the Club Financial Control (CFC) Panel was of particular importance. The CFC Panel…is the independent body which, among other things, has the task of assessing whether licences have been correctly awarded and that clubs have fulfilled their obligations as defined in the UEFA Club Licensing Regulations.

“At its meeting on 14 July 2010, the CFC Panel unanimously concluded that the licence had not been correctly awarded to RCD Mallorca and that the club did not sufficiently fulfil its financial obligations.”

Mallorca, who finished fifth in La Liga to secure qualification, in May applied to go into voluntary administration after amassing debts thought to be in the region of €70 million.

The thrust of their argument was that other clubs with more sizeable debt go unpunished. Last weekend they took to the field with a message for UEFA on their shirts in a friendly against Feyenoord in a bid to be reinstated.

In the match against Feyenoord, which Mallorca won 1-0, the players took to the field with the slogan “UEFA FAIR PLAY PLEASE” on their shirts.

Mallorca’s case will serve as a statement of intent by UEFA, which has made ‘financial fair play’ a key objective under president Michel Platini.

“The current work of the CFC Panel goes hand in hand with the future role it will have in implementing the recently approved financial fair play measures,” added the statement.

“Such measures are aimed at bringing about a situation which curbs the excessive spending and inflated transfer fees and player salaries that have endangered football in recent years.

“The protection of European football’s long-term health and viability, as well as the integrity and smooth running of the competitions requires greater discipline and more rational financial behaviour from clubs, and it will be necessary for clubs to operate more responsibly by not spending more than they earn, while settling their liabilities punctually.”